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Costing the earth: Abbott's mean budget

By Lyn Bender - posted Wednesday, 4 September 2013


If as predicted by polls, the Liberal Party wins government next week, apparently there will be no expense spared on stopping and buying Indonesian boats. However it seems there will be no similar fiscal generosity extended towards our home: the earth. Speaking at the National Press Club, at virtually the eleventh hour before the pre election blackout, Tony Abbott has declared, "We are very confident we can achieve the 5 percent target [for emissions reduction by 2020]… but in the end we have told you the money we will spend – and we won't spend any more." Abbott and Greg Hunt,

Shadow Minister for Climate Action and the Environment have remained firm.in the face of recent criticisms of the inadequate costings for the Liberal Party's Direct Action Climate Plan . Treasury has stated that the plan will cost double that of Labour's carbon pricing, if it is to achieve the agreed targets.

Meanwhile it's official. Australia has had itshottesttwelve months since 1910.There is a plethora of evidence that the world is warming but we might as well dwell upon our local situation. After all the electioneering has paid next to no attention to the big picture of Australia as part of the world. The sparring leaders of the main parties have stuck to their parochial agendas like flies to flypaper.

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The Liberal Party web site in a listing of 48 policies does not include its Direct Action Plan for climate change. It does however include abolition of the carbon price.

There is no need to invoke Freud to detect Abbotts' contempt for concern about climate change. This has been the clearly enunciated attitude of Tony Abbott.

He has famously declared in 2009 that the Climate Change science was complete crap.

Malcolm Turnbull ousted by Abbott and his backers from the leadership for his acceptance of the reality of climate change has been equally blunt calling the Abbott Direct Action Plan; bullshit Turnbull states.

"as we are being blunt, the fact is that Tony and the people who put him in his job do not want to do anything about climate change. They do not believe in human caused global warming. As Tony observed on one occasion "climate change is crap" or if you consider his mentor, Senator Minchin, the world is not warming, its cooling and the climate change issue is part of a vast left wing conspiracy to de industrialize the world".

More recently Abbott described the emissions trading scheme as 'a so called market in the non delivery of an invisible substance to no-one'.

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His advisors may have deemed that he needed to neutralize the whole climate thing by

declaring a 'climate' policy that would provide a catchy sound grab. This three word policy has an affinity with the pragmatic theme promoted by John Howard and nuanced to fit Abbotts 'no surprises' up front projected persona. There will be 'no surprises' after

I become Prime Minister , Abbott has declared. In other words Abbott is going to do sweet all about emissions, or encouraging moves torenewables. He has however, given us clues by which to infer his political strategy. Realising that it would be political death to seem to oppose all action on carbon pollution, we libs now have an er plan.

Abbott has also declared that he will sack the foe of deniers, Climate Commissioner

Tim Flannery and scrap the Climate Commission. Which is tantamount to declaring that he will shoot the message as well.

According to the ABC voting survey Vote Compass, 61 per cent of Australians want more action on climate change and the environment. They are however divided on the imposition of a carbon price.

But despite the humungous implications of a superficial, but ineffective climate action policy, this is not the only serious implication of the revelations of the budget shortfall on declared targets. Firstly, despite the claim of responsible fiscal management,

the costing of climate policy has been sloppy or negligent. Furthermore, staying within a budget that fails to achieve its modest 5 per cent target, declares that money will be saved but not the environment. Is there any point in paying out $3.2 billion on a policy that from the outset has been found to portend a failure to achieve its declared goals.

So no surprise here, Tony Abbott still thinks climate change action is crap but he also needs the votes he may gain by seeming to do something. And what could be more resonant of the assurance of getting something done than, 'a direct action plan'?

So this is politics not truth after all and both major parties are playing this game. But the difference is that Abbott is looking like winning this contest of deception and false reassurance. He is speaking slowly to us now, in a read my lips fashion, as though we are childlike and he is a wise father, A 'daggy dad' who knows best and asks us to trust him.

Ah how many men have said that before him. When someone asks me to give them my trust, carte blanche, well call me a sceptical Freudian, but I immediately feel suspicious.

Why bring it up in the first place and why go on about it? Why not just prove it?

Ah therein lies the problem. Tony Abbott doesn't care if his costings are out on climate change, they are capped even if temperatures are not.

Abbott is willing to commit his own version of the declared cardinal sin; the broken promise. Abbott has pledged to keep a cap on the climate budget. This means he is prepared to break his emissionspledge. This is inevitable due to the predicted funding shortfall.

So will this fiscal template apply to other policies?

The Liberal costings will be released one or two days before the election with little time left for scrutiny or analysis.

As with the Broad Band controversy Abbott is saying, never mind the achievements, feel the cheapness. By now overloaded with domestic details and tired old motherhood statements voters have probably grown weary of electioneering and its squabbling. Many have already voted without knowing whether the Abbott policies are financially plausible.

We the people, are like spectators in the Roman Colosseum. Collectively and metaphorically, we are about to give the thumbs up or down to the gladiators. Have they fought well and bravely? Have they fought fairly and truly? Who has appeared most noble.? Or is it just politics deserving of our indifference and requiring only the satisfaction of our craving to punish the loser.

But we are deciding who will be the next leader of our nation. We are choosing the Prime Minister and the team that will lead us in confronting, or avoiding, the massive challenges relating to climate and shrinking resources, On these issues Abbott and his team, in my view, deserves the thumbs down.

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About the Author

Lyn Bender is a psychologist in private practice. She is a former manager of Lifeline Melbourne and is working on her first novel.

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